a lot of discussion about that. bill: i've bottom one. john says no, no, and no. larry says, yes, save lives in that country. we'll see when the digs comes. i'll seal you tonight on fox report. make it a great day. martha: looking forward to that. "happening now" starts right now. see you back here tomorrow. >> fox news alert on rapidly building momentum for a u.s. military response in syria. one defense department official telling fox news not a matter of but when the obama administration leaving no doubt that american armed forces can easily hit targets inside syria. military officials telling fox that planned operations may include the use of cruise missiles or possibly even stealth bombers. over the next couple of hours we'll have extensive coverage and analysis about thetial american intervention in this crisis and moments from now,

we'll go live to the middle east for a report. but first, right now, brand new stories and arizona inmate taking the witness stand in the trial of a fellow prisoner. >> accuse of brutal murder of a oklahoma couple. how credible is a prisoner as a witness? should prosecutors depend on inmates to prove their case? plus the ongoing protests in wisconsin's capitol turning violent when police tackle and restrain a demonstrator. the question is, did they go too far? reality star kate gosselin reportedly suing her ex-husband what he did to get dirt on her for a tell-all book. it is all "happening now." you're intrigued i see. >> sounds juicy to me. arthel: america's top brass says the military is ready to act if president obama gives the

command to strike syria. i'm arthel neville in for jenna lee. >> i'm gregg jarrett in for jon scott. glad you're with us. the obama administration is signaling it may not wait for the go ahead from the international community. right now u.n. inspectors are on the ground in syria trying to finalize their own investigation about a horrendous chemical weapons attack last week. one that secretary of state john kerry blames squarely on the bashar al-assad regime. today the defense secretary chuck hagel issuing a strong reminder that american warships are already in position off the syrian coastline. in an interview secretary hagel told the bbc, quote, we have moved assets in place to be able to fulfill and comply with whatever option the president wishes to take. when asked if the military is ready to respond, secretary hagel said, quote, we're ready to go, like that. in the meantime syrian

government accusing the united states of lying. leland vittert live in our middle east bureau. leland. >> reporter: gregg, the syrian government doesn't have a lot of friends backing up its side of the story. in fact the arab league puts out a statement saying they blame the syrian government for this chemical weapons attack but stopped short of calling u.s. military action or unilateral military action. the wardrops are certainly starting to beat much louder in the middle east. talked to someone via skype in damascus who says there is a lot of nervousness over the potential of a u.s. strike. u.n. weapons inspectors who are supposed to be back at the site of the chemical attacks today, they're held up in their hotel room. yesterday they went out and shot at. one of their cars was destroyed when the bullet went through the front windshield. nobody was hurt. they are taking a day off for the security situation saying they will resume their investigation tomorrow. united states for its part says it doesn't need the word from

u.n. weapons inspectors on a word whether chemical weapons was used. they have made up their own mind as much of the western world. the other issue coming to light is what happens after a potential u.s. strike, mean retaliation in israel? folks were lining up to get gas masks here. there was real threat of retaliation by syria or iran against israel. both said israel would be fair game if this happened. the gas masks are given out with atropine, that is anti-sarin antidote you can inject yourself with. every israeli is entitled to one. many don't have them. the sense of a possible u.s. attack sent everyone running for sense of urgency to get the gas masks. on the other hand bashar assad in the past said he would respond. he said there would be violent responses to any type of aggression by western powers or by israel. remember, gregg, israel already has bombed syria a couple of times this year to prevent weapons transfers they deemed

unacceptable. each time assad said the next time i will hit back. so far he hasn't hit back the only thing people here in israel can do is watch and wait as everyone in the middle east does to see what the u.s. finally decides to do or for that matter not do. gregg? >> leland vittert live in jerusalem, thanks. arthel: meanwhile fox news has learned that our government is expected to release evidence that the assad regime used chemical weapons against its own people. mike baker is here. he's a former cia covert operations officer and president of diligence llc, a global intelligence security firm. good to see you, mike. >> thank you. arthel: doesn't matter of what secretary of state kerry says, syria says they're lying. say this is a chess match with syria, with the syrian government. from a global intelligence perspective how could we or what should we expect their next move might be? >> well they're going to wait for our move. we're, it is really in our court now. what the secretary of state,

anytime you're secretary of state and your white house says you have undeniable evidence and there is no doubt, then you have to do something. we don't, that doesn't give you any other place to go. so because we've talked about this red line, because we talked about the moral obscenity of using chemical weapons, then there is no other option. now the military has, had a target list for some time. that is just how it works. we could have let rockets fly as soon as they decided there is no doubt and there is undeniable evidence. we live in different time and age. the white house wants to make the case to the public, not just to congress. and this is all allowing, what is it allowing? it is allowing assad to sit back to say to himself, this is thoughtful white house. i used chemical weapons according to them. they're taking their time. they're going to make a few military strikes. what are we going to do about it. arthel: i asked you, defense secretary hagel says the u.s. military is ready to move like that. how should that look, that move

we're talking about? >> well, as the clock continues to tick and we don't do something, putin, russia, iran, the key supporters of syria, and assad himself will assume that this is not quite a serious and frankly any strike that we do, anything we do will end up as a go rope, frankly. we shouldn't think somehow letting a few missiles fly to let him know that chemical weapons use is unacceptable that somehow that will resolve the problem. the problem here is, what is our plan or exit strategy? if assad goes, what happens? a thousand tons of chemical weapons end up in the hands of a mishmash of opposition groups. arthel: of course they're mulling those possibilities over there within our administration i would imagine but also you just made a good point too, mike, that is, listen, we're saying, making it clear to the international community's well as the people that our goal here is not to overthrow assad. it is simply to go in there

strategically, unmistakably to let him know we do not approve of using chemical weapons against his people. but if it is just to send a message, is he listening, does he care, does he get it? >> part of a it will depend how personal and devastating that message is. we have very few options. you can either target the chemical weapons stores, which is of limited value i would argue because they can always get more. it is not necessarily going to end this massive conflict. you can target some of the key military sites. which is what we'll do, command-and-control, fair silts whatever it may be. if that is damaging enough, that it starts to really impact his traditional fighting, his conventional warfare in this conflict, then yes, it could have an impact but or what do we do? or we target him directly. there is a handful of things we can do in situation like this. none of them result in a tidy ending to this story. i feel for the white house. they have a real problem on their hand.

this is a major, major issue. people should reacquaint with the map. damascus where the chemical weapons took place is very close to the israeli-lebanese borders. this has potential for a serious, serious conflict. arthel: not to mention the sites themselves are complex. once the chemical weapons teams get there. >> absolutely. arthel: it's a mess. mike baker, thank you very much. always interesting to get your global perspective on everything. gregg, over to you now. >> arthel, thanks. new concerns about the growing influence of lobbyists inside the white house and whether president obama is actually gone back on his campaign pledge to keep them out of his administration. james rosen, live in washington with more on that story. hi, james. >> reporter: gregg, good morning. the president's tone on lobbyists casting them virtually as an instrument of devil, evil of modearn american politics would be exorcised from the white house in obama administration was said early

on. indeed the very speech which then senator barack obama announced his candidacy for the presidency. >> write the check and you get stuck with the bill. they get access while you get to write a letter. they think they own this government but we're here today to take it back. [cheers and applause] the time for that kind of politics is over! it is through! it is time to turn the page right here, and right now. [cheers and applause] >> reporter: but the relationship between the obama administration and the dennisons of washington fabled k street have hardly been so hostile. both big ticket laws the president signed overhauling the health care and financial services saw heavy lobbying by those industries and thousands of pages of regulation that accompanied them served in the eyes of most washington observers to make lobbyists more valuable to corporate clients. attorney general eric holder,

agriculture secretary tom vilsack and tom wheeler, who president mommed for the federal communications commission were all lobby itings with wheeler the telecommunications industry chief lobby it. >> the obama administration who promised wouldn't be their style of governing and way of operating ended up using high-profile lobbyists in positions where they decided their expertise and connection would make them the best people for those jobs. it is exact opposite of what was promised during the 2008 campaign. >> reporter: the center for responsive politics lists close to 400 people in the obama administration who have been through the so-called revolving door. close to 150 of whom are current or registered lobbyists. better ratio than george w. bush had, but still a far cry from the battle cry of springfield, gregg. >> not what he promised. all right. james rosen, james, thanks very much. be sure to keep yourself up-to-date with political news by logging on to "fox news poll"

ticks.com. arthel: right now a very emotional trial in georgia in the murder of a 13-month-old baby, shot in his stroller while his mother watched. the trial of one teenager charged in the crime is underway now. today the baby's mother is expected to testify. john roberts has the details from marietta, georgia. what is the latest there, john. >> reporter: good morning to you, arthel. the court is hearing from pastor flores this morning. he testified he was shot and wounded by accused baby killer demarcus elkins in an attempted robbery before baby antonio sanity august go was killed. that is one way they try to put the murder weapon in elkins hands. they had a friend of elkins testify the day of at baby was shot, he came to her apartment looking to hide his gun. >> he asked can he put his weapon under my couch. >> asked you what?

>> can he put his weapon under my couch. >> and what did you tell him? >> yes. >> you see a gun? >> yes, ma'am. >> reporter: that witness also testified later that morning elkins's mother and sister came to the apartment to retrieve the gun. another man testified he drove the two to a nearby salt pond in brunswick, georgia, where they allegedly disposed of the murder weapon. arthel. arthel: john, if the prosecution is introducing the gun as evidence will that make their case? >> reporter: actually that is probably about the weakest part of their case, arthel. because the small caliber of the weapon, when it is fired it doesn't leave definitive marks when it exits the barrel. on the stand, ballistics expert said he could not get a definitive match between test-fired bullets and the one that killed baby antonio santiago. said under cross-examination that the lethal bullet was made of different material. >> they can not be eliminated or identified to the weapon nor can

they be identified or eliminated as having been fired from the same gun. >> none of the bullets that you tested were consistent with the bullet that killed antonio santiago? >> that's correct. >> reporter: in fact under cross-examination, he was forced to admit there are millions of weapons in this country, arthel that could have fired that fatal shot. back to you. >> this is definitely one to watch. john roberts. thank you very much. >> they have been gathering for weeks at one state capitol. police however now dragging away a couple of demonstrators after tensions reach a fever pitch. where is showdown going on right now? also, the images are heart-breaking. utter greef after a chemical weapons attack on innocent families. the united states blaming the ba shar al-assad regime. our next guest says there is another key player pulling the strings in that region. how would iran respond to american military action in

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arthel: right now, new information on some crime stories we're watching. police hauled away two protesters from the wisconsin capitol rotunda where demonstrators have been gathering almost daily since late july to protest republican governor scott walker. they say they're exercising free speech rights. police say, they don't have a permit. hawaii judge declared a mistrial after jurors could not determine if a federal agent is guilty of murder. state department special agent christopher dede charged with shooting a customer at a mcdonald's. the judge set a hearing for friday to decide on a new trial date. firefighters who responded to the aurora movie theater massacre say there's a double-standard at play in the wake of that colorado shooting. a gag order remains in place

preventing most first-responders from talking about their experiences. they have been told they have been silenced because of an ongoing city rev apparently does not apply to the fire chief. he speaks at conferences across the country but says those comments are approved by the city and designed not to hurt the case. gregg: some new information on a story we've been following for quite a while now. a young girl fought the medical establishment and she won. getting a long transplant notwithstanding her age. now less than three months later, sarah murnaghan is back home. laura engel is in new york city with the latest. so, laura, how is sarah doing? >> reporter: hi, gregg. she is doing great and she will be able to recuperate in much more comfortable setting. seen her here we have new video arriving home earlier today by ambulance with her mother at her side. it was a warm homecoming for the

girl who has been through so much. her father cousins, grandparents greeted her in the driveway. she will have a nurse at home to help her with the transition. her mother said sarah was taken off oxygen though she gets support from a machine that helps her breathe. she is up on her feet on a walker to help her get around. her family said her recovery will be focused on building muscle strength so she no longer has to use a breathing tube. her mother says she and her daughter are crying tears of joy that she is finally home, gregg. gregg: what a wonderful story. all of this made possible what, because of a change in transplant policy? >> reporter: right. sarah's parents sued to change the policy that put her at the bottom of the adult list for patients 12 and older as her health deteriorated. after a federal judge intervened, the private non-profit group that manages organ allocation known as the

organ procurement and transplant network added her to the adult list. after the first set failed. sarah received another set three days later while suffering with end stage cystic fibrosis. her mom wrote on the facebook page after entering it the hospital six months ago she could never imagine the journey that lay ahead. if you're struggling with something bigger than you, i can say two things, god is great and so are the human spirit. there are some beautiful people in the world, thank you. sarah's mom is expected to give another update later today. we'll let you know how it goes. gregg: what a great story. laura, thanks so much. >> you were reading with the mom posted on facebook, it gave me chill bumps. gregg: so nice to report a good story, isn't it? arthel: it is, it is. coming up we'll continue to follow the situation in syria as it gets tense by the minute. and all eyes are on the region as officials tell fox, the question isn't if the u.s. will

take action but when. devastation for a massachusetts family. we'll tell you what caused this man to snap inside of a courtroom. [shouting] ♪ i'm your venus [ female announcer ] what does beauty feel like? find out with venus embrace. every five-bladed stroke gives you 360 degrees of smooth. for goddess skin you can feel and feel. only from venus embrace.

gregg: fox news alert. on our top story now. the world is watching and waiting for possible u.s. action in syria. defense secretary chuck hagel says the armed forces are ready to act on a command immediately behind the scenes. american officials are talking with our allies about the potential next steps. that may or may not include seeking approval from the united nations security council where russia as consistently backed up syria and likely to veto any military authorization but our next guest says, another country is also at the forefront of the

crisis. iran. executive washington editor for "the wall street journal" gerry seib joins us now. he has a column out about that today. if president obama fails to act or act significantly on his self-imposed red line threat, gerry, what conclusion would iran, to a lesser extent hezbollah, draw in their quest to dominate and influence the middle east? >> well i think that's one of the factors that will have to be taken into consideration. i'm sure it is taken into consideration at the white house right now. iran is the elephant in the room in several ways. first of all it provides a lot of arms that fuel the regime in syria. second this syrian civil war is not just a civil war anymore. it is kind of a regional proxy war between iran, syria, hezbollah, that axis on one side and just about everybody else in the middle east on the other side. it is pretty much an iran proxy war in some ways. third as you suggest, iran has a

nuclear weapons program. its own nuclear program the u.s. fears could become a nuclear weapons program. gregg: sure. >> so how the west and the u.s. in particular treat the syrian weapons of mass destructions destruction, program, chemical weapons program will be watched as well. gregg: it comes down to the credibility and of course the president put his credibility at risk. let me quote you from your column today. mr. obama has said it would not be acceptable for syria to use chemical weapons just as he said it wouldn't be acceptable for iran to develop nuclear weapons. he must now ponder whether the credibility of the first statement will affect the credibility of the second. has president obama unwittingly or maybe, some might regard foolishly painted himself in a corner? >> well i don't think so. i think the reality is if the syrian regime decided to sort of flaunt the fact that it was using chemical weapons, and that may be what we saw here, i think

any u.s. administration would have to respond regardless what might or might not have been said previously. so i think the actor here that's put everybody in a corner is the syrian regime and its sponsors in iran. i think that is the reality of the situation. of course the what you do do about it is really tricky one. the desire of the administration not to get drawn into the broader conflict but to make probably a surgical strike to make the point there's a price to be made for using chemical weapons. that is most likely course. the other course is likely we need to do something more broader and we really do have to get rid of the assad regime i don't think that's where we're headed yet. gregg: your colleague, bret stevens argues today, a strike directed straight at assad and his brother and family members who could claim power is the only military option that could be utilized here. if that were to happen, if assad were forced out or killed, might

that accelerate iran's desire for nuclear weapons? >> that is the flip side and that's a really good point and that is one of the dangers here. the iranians are on track to develop nuclear program that probably carries along wit nuclear capabilities will they cross the line to develop a nuclear weapon? you could make the case loss of ally in assad and increases their isolation and increases incentive to get nuclear weapon as kind of a security blanket. this is a complex situation. it is not clear getting rid of assad would less likely make them develop a nuclear weapon. it could have the opposite effect. gregg: i mentioned hezbollah. i haven't talked about russia, "the benefactor" of iran and syria, that is in the equation, isn't it? >> it absolutely is. that may be the key to the solution. you will not get iranians to back off their support for president assad i don't believe. he is their main and some ways their only real ally left in the region.

on the other hand the russians are very calculating in these things. i don't suspect they have a lost emotional investment in assad. they have a investment in having a voice in syria and having a seat at the table where things get sorted out. they may make a deal with russia where they let assad go and maintain influence in the region and that is what the u.s. may be aiming for in the long run. gregg: there is not a warm and fuzzy relationship these days with president obama and vladmir putin. >> that's a problem too. gregg: yeah, no kidding. gerry seib, great column today in the "wall street journal." everybody should check it out. good to see you appreciate it. >> thank you. >> arizona inmate taking the stand against a fellow prisoner charged with the brutal murder of an oklahoma couple but how credible is an inmate as a witness and is it a good idea for prosecutors to depend on prisoners to prove their case? look who's here? lis wiehl will eat doug burns lunch. you watch it, doug.

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arthel: welcome back. some encouraging news for the u.s. economy. consumer confidence increasing slightly in august to 81.5. that's up from 81 in july. that's just below the 82.1 reading in june which was the highest since january 2008.

doug is live in washington so doug, this is a different way to measure and some say a better way to measure the economy. why is that? >> primarily because it incorporates a wider array of data points, includes 10 different components of health. average initial claims, new manufacturing orders for consumer goods and materials, building permits and new private housing limits. today's news is pretty good because the last measurement in july was down at 81 as you said and increased slightly in august to 81.5. lynn franco calls the slight improvement a result of improving short-term expectations. consumers were moderately more upbeat about business, job and earning prospects. incomes expectations which had declined sharply this year with the payroll tax hike, have rebounded to the highest level

in 2 1/2 years. that's from the conference board. it's all an indicator that the economy continues improving, albeit slowly with many fits and starts. arthel: we like hearing that but we do ask if there are any warning signs in the report. >> there are. consumers believe that the current business and labor market conditions are less favorable than last month. those believing that business conditions are good decreased actually from 18.4% -- or rather, to 18.4% from 20.8%. those who think business conditions are bad was basically unchanged at 24.8%. and those who think that business conditions will improve over the next six months increased ever so slightly but only a .2%, that is really not the kind of enthusiasm that promises to bring us roaring out of the economic builders. arthel: thanks very much for that report. gregg: an arizona inmate taking the witness stand in the murder

trial of a fellow escapee charged in the killing, this was an awful story of an oklahoma couple. tracy testifying yesterday that it took three months to plan his 2010 escape with john, an accomplice, and just a few minutes to actually break free. prov is i about the day that mc cluskey reportedly killed gary and linda hoss because they wanted their pickup truck and trailer but how credible is a witness, especially one trying to avoid the death penalty? lis wiehl joins us and doug burns, a criminal defense attorney. good to see you both. the old saw is bad people hang out with bad people. >> murders don't talk to nuns and choir boys. jurors know that. they know that prosecution has to put on who the murder was consorting with.

these guys were together. they allegedly did this horrible crime and don't forget, mc cluskey is caught with one of the caps from the male victim here. the evidence is so strong against him, they would like to have the coconspirators but they don't need them and i think the jury will find them to be incredibly credible. >> a lot of times you ever witnesses that aren't that articulate and they lay out a story very consistent with what happened so jurors are all over that and they accept it. the other distinction i want to draw quickly is this is not a jailhouse snitch in the conventional sense. in the conventional sense, i was having breakfast with the defendant and he admitted to me he did the crime and there's no corroboration. but here the person is in prison but they're an accomplice and the story they tell will likely hang together. gregg: he confessed over gruel. >> and i want my plea down. gregg: i want to go to the aaron hernandez case. new concerns that the pro football star's inner circle

could help him get off. hernandez is accused of killing his friend, oden lloyd, in june. no eyewitness. prosecutors may have to rely on his friends to testify against him, many of whom have long, long rap sheets and could be easily discredited. same sort of situation here but what they don't have in the other case they have in this case against aaron hernandez, surveillance video. >> right. surveillance video doesn't lie. they'll get that in. they come in and get the other witnesses in. choir boys and all of that kind of stuff but they have the surveillance tape and that's what jurors want to cling to. gregg: going in the industrial park, four people clearly seen in the car. three come out. and oden lloyd is not one of them >> that's right. gregg: there's a plethora of evidence in this case.

here it is. 44 caliber gun casings match the murder weapon tied to the defendant. surveillance videotape as we mentioned, text phone messages implicated and the sister complicates d.n.a. evidence, placing hernandez at the scene. >> it all comes down to corroboration and i'll never forget a lecture one time when i was a young prosecutor. >> 100 years ago? gregg: 200. >> 1897. but seriously, the point is high ranking official was laying out arguments we've been discussing. take the witnesses where you find them, et cetera, et cetera, but at the end, it comes down to corroboration f. they're going to have trace items that come back to the evidence and so on -- however, there is an issue about one witness refusing to testify even though they're granting her immunity. gregg: that may change. here's my question, so four go in, three come out. we don't know who pulled the trigger but does it matter? >> not with conspiracy.

as long as the prosecution can prove that they each took a step or more steps, it doesn't matter who -- gregg: but they're going to blame each other. >> they always do that. that's right. and typically in like a murder for hire case, even where somebody isn't killed, it's like he didn't tell me to kill him. no. he pulled the trigger. no. he did. but under theory and aiding and abetting -- >> that's why it's so important that the prosecution is focusing on hernandez being the shooter. why else would you bring everybody else in and say, we'll take this testify for you unless you're going to give them a better deal. gregg: one of the other guys' names is wallace. hernandez is paying wallace' legal bills. wouldn't you love the jurors to find that out? >> they won't >> i don't think they will but of course you would. my goodness. gregg: they haven't found the murder weapon, 45 caliber glock. does that matter? don't need it? >> it's something for the defendant. >> it's nice to have it.

jurors realize that, hey, when you just kill somebody, you kind of want to try to get rid of that weapon. not giving any hints out there but you kind of want to. gregg: he's going down? >> i think so. >> yes. gregg: good to see you both. arthel: thank you, gregg. drama in the courtroom but bailiffs are not restraining the accused murderer. instead they took down this man right here in the gallery. wait until you hear what set him off and more drama. also new accusations in the wake of the messy divorce, kate and jon gosling. which one is suing the other over a hacking claim? like i said, more drama. [ female announcer ] when they wake up dry in pampers,

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arthel: this just in.

a bunch of cop cars busted. the suspects arrested. it's over now but it started at their high speed police chase there in west broward county following a home invasion robbery. this just in. it's all over. a bunch of cop cars got busted up in the process but so did the suspects. gregg: taxpayers are going to have to foot the bill for that. arthel: you're always thinking of that, aren't you? gregg: hard earned money. new next hour, a military panel hearing testimony in the penalty phase of the fort hood shooting court-martial. the death penalty is on the table now. the defendant may want it. our legal panel will be back to take a look at what should happen to major hasan. and the latest on a massive wild fire burning in and around yosemite national park threatening power and water supplies for a major american city. a group of swimmers goes for a world record while helping out a

good cause. captain of the team, a vietnam veteran himself, joins us live to tell us how they did it. arthel: tense moments in a massachusetts courtroom. a man arraigned for allegedly murdering his friend after a long day of drinking. the victim's brother had to be restrained when he lunged at the suspect, apparently overwhelmed by the gruesome details outlined in the hearing. a witness says the suspect and the victim got into a knife fight. the victim was stabbed 69 times. they found the suspect at a train station covered in blood. he's being held on a million dollars' bail. as for the brother who lost it in the courtroom, well, he was charged with disrupting court proceedings and resisting arrest and was released on his own recognizance. gregg: there used to be reality tv's happily married couples, lots of kids and all of that.

so much for that. the two former stars of "jon and kate plus 8" remember them? i wish i didn't. they're deploying their lawyers all over again after the allegations start flying, none other than julie has the 411 on this one. >> i like the part about they used to be reality stars. that was years ago. but somehow we're still talking about them. nobody said divorce was pretty, right? the reality show with the eight kids abruptly ended after the couple divorced in 2009 and since kate has been off, kate plus 8 was cancelled in 2011 and we haven't seen much of them. kate alleges her ex-jon hacked her phone and computer which gave him access to bank records and email after they were separated. uh-oh. she also claims he stole hard drive with confidential material and turned all of this information over to his friend, tabloid reporter john hoffman giving him enough dirt on kate to write a tell all e-book called "how she fooled the

world." the couple divorced in 2009 immediating causing the reality show to end and it gets dirtier. hoffman admits to picking through kate's trash and finding her personal journal where he discovered horrid details such as the reality mom's alleged repeated use of a wooden spoon to discipline her children physically. after releasing his e-book last september, he told "star" magazine she uses that for anything and everything. the spanking entries are endless. end quote. the book was eventually removed from many retail sites. the lawsuit claims hoffman publicly bragged about obtaining the private info and acknowledging it was acquiring illegally by jon. kate now 38, i think that's a reality show, is demanding unspecified damages as well as legal costs. gregg: the spanker. >> they apparently raised some of her own money because she was going to try to pitch a pilot of herself again. she wants to get back on tv so i guess this lawsuit will give her 15 minutes of fame. >> please don't encourage it.

"kate at 38" don't encourage it. gregg: you could do so much with that. >> this is daytime television, gregg. may i move on? gregg: you may. arthel: a massive fire at yosemite national park. firefighters overseas are facing a similar problem. who they've called in for backup. help the gulf recover and learn from what happened so we could be a better, safer energy company. i can tell you - safety is at the heart of everything we do. we've added cutting-edge technology, like a new deepwater well cap and a state-of-the-art monitoring center, whe experts watch over all drilling activity twenty-four-seven. and we're sharing what we've learned, so we can all produce energy more safely. our commitment has never been stronger.

arthel: today we have some incredible followup to a story we first brought you last month. a small business owner in atlanta made it her mission to help save orphans in india. and she's doing it by selling tea. well, when we covered the stoir it took off, even going viral and now that business owner has some amazing news to share.

here are the details from atlanta. so tell us how the publicity helped out the lady's cause. >> this is a great story. the tea shop has received an outpouring of support from people wanting to help. the owner said she's received numerous calls and email messages from church groups, businesses and individuals all around the world. listen. >> i think i received around 600 emails since the first hour that the talk piece aired. i was very unprepared for it. and also we sold more tea in the first four days than we had sold in four years. >> she calls her product the learning tea because she uses the proceeds to pay for the girls' tuition through college in addition to their basic living expenses. she's been doing this since a 2009 trip to visit tea plantations in the region when she met some girls who at 16 were about to age out of their

orphanage. she wanted to provide them an alternative to the sex trafficking that are reallies for so many girls in india. arthel: if you could tell us more, the type of assistance she's getting. 600 emails? right after -- six hours, i think she said. >> right. within days of the story. now it's in the thousands. you have some individuals offering financial assistance. they want to help her build additional centers for throughout india and other cannotries. other shops and restaurants are offering to tell her tea. a nearby indian restaurant will be sending at least one of its employees to india each year to give her hands-on support. its owners say they wanted to pitch in after watching her story. listen. >> to me it speaks to how much of a difference one person can

truly make. >> she's actually reaching out and pulling somebody across the divide, especially those that are least empowered and the least fortunate. to me that blew my mind. >> and you can find out more about her efforts in india by visiting her website, the learning tea.com. arthel: mind blowing and heart warming. thank you very much. gregg: we want to remind you, check out our fox news politics.com. keep yourself up to date with political news. just log on and sign right up. you'll be up to date on everything. all right. it's hard to imagine but the fire that is raging in yosemite national park could threaten san francisco's water and power supply. that's right. a city more than 150 miles away. but firefighters are battling this massive inferno. just caught a break. we'll tell you all about that. and the republican fight to

defund obamacare takes a new turn. opponents taking their objections to the next level and you may be surprised to learn just who they're targeting.

arthel: the pentagon says it is ready to go if the president orders military action in response to syrian government's use of chemical weapons. how likely that is and when it could happen. homeland security secretary stepping down today. what she says is the greatest regret of her four-year term. and the fate of army major hasan will be in the hands of a military panel. they'll decide if hasan lives or dies which just may be what the mass murderer really wants. gregg: new warnings as the crisis in syria reaches a boiling point.

arthel: hello, everyone. gregg: welcome to a second hour of "happening now." on the brink of war in syria, defense secretary saying that the united states forces are, quote, ready to go if president obama orders military action. well, the u.s. with assets already deployed in the region, four destroyers within range of targets inside syria plus warplanes as well, all positioned to strike at a moment's notice. and any military action would be in response to last week's deadly attack against civilians near damascus. evidence now mounting that the syrian regime used chemical weapons in the attack but syria's foreign deputy minister denying it. he challenges the united states to back up accusations with proof and he also made it very clear that syria will defend itself against any u.s. military action by using, quote, all means available. >> we know how to defend

ourselves but as the americans, the british and the french have failed in afghanistan and iraq and other places, they will fail in syria and there will be a very high price. not only for them but for international peace and security. arthel: national security correspondence jennifer griffin live at the pentagon and jennifer, based on the assets that the u.s. has in position right now, will the administration strike asad's chemical storage sites? >> not according to our sources. it is not possible to carry out a surgical strike on chemical weapons storage facility. it could unleash the chemicals and lead to a lot of death and destruction. any plans to secure asan's chemical weapons would require special operations and boots on the ground and that is not on the table right now. the u.s. has four u.s. navy destroyers in position and at least one nuclear powered submarine. brits have positioned a

submarine in the mediterranean as well. they did so during the libyan operation with qaddafi. most of the missiles were launched from submarines. each u.s. navy destroyer can carry up to 90 tomahawks at a time. chuck hagel has spoken to british and french counterparts today and told the bbc in an interview that u.s. forces are ready to go. s administration also plans to release declassified intelligence about the chemical weapons strike that the asad regime allegedly carried out last week. that information is expected to be released sometime today. arthel: jennifer, u.s. forces ready to go. when is it likely that the u.s. will strike? >> well, fox news producer caught up with u.s. ambassador to the u.n. just moments ago. here is what she said. >> so where are we on syria and can you please address some concern that not enough is being done? >> all i can say is we're

continuing to consult our allies and partners on the appropriate response in light of last week's chemical weapons attack in syria. >> how is that coming along? >> we're making progress. >> the time line is set by nato. nato is having an emergency session tomorrow in brussels, wednesday, and on thursday, u.k. prime minister david cameron called his parliament into a special session to vote on military action against syria. so it is unlikely that any strike would happen before thursday. keep an eye on the u.n. inspectors if they start heading to the airport sometime soon, that could also be a sign that something is in the works. president obama still plans to meet vladmir putin, president of russia, on tuesday. so all of these issues are factors in the decision in terms of the timing. arthel: thank you very much there at the pentagon. gregg: new action on obamacare

as opponents of the signature legislation now plan a series of raleiglie rallies, including one today. activists will call on boehner to defund the health care law or else, they say, it will be known to them as boehner care. really? david is the correspondence at the "washington examiner." good to see you. obamacare is unpopular. people want it changed. but if republicans, you know, tie a change to shutting down the government, a widespread shutdown of the government, what would be the political fallout? >> from what we can tell right now, it wouldn't go well for them. the job for republicans who want to defund obamacare through the budget process, which means a continuing resolution bill that would continue spending at

current levels when funding runs out on september 30, the end of the fiscal year, their job is to convince independents and democrats who are skeptical about the law or don't like it, there are not many but there's a significant portion to go along with this idea to tidy funding to the continuing resolution bill. if republicans can make the sale to these group of voters, these groups, then they've got something. republicans support the idea of defunding the affordable care act. i don't think you can find any republican on capitol hill that would say they don't want to defund it. the issue is how when you have a president who is not ever going to agree to kill his signature legislative achievements something that means something to him emotionally as well as politically, never mind senate democrats. gregg: isn't it politically smarter for republicans to let obamacare come to fruition, the more people know it the more

they might dislike it? after all, you've got people fainting when they open their premium notices and realize, you know, the amount they're going to have to pay more in ohio, 41% more, florida 35% increase, indiana 71% and then you've got people who are opening their mail and getting cancellation notices. 60,000 people lost their coverage in california alone over obamacare. >> you bring up an interesting point which is if the law is so bad, it will wreak so much havoc, why not let it from a political standpoint now, why not let it be implemented, people will realize how bad it is and then they'll scream at congress, get rid of it, do something about it? there are some republicans who believe politically this is the best course of action in order to get to a point where the public starts demanding across the board, independents and democrats as well as republicans that this thing go away, that it be defunded. you know, but having said that,

there are things that republicans, i believe, can do in the budget process that's upcoming in september, possibly through the debt ceiling process, to take a crack at obamacare, to delay some more provisions of it, whether it's the individual mandate to purchase insurance or other factors. i think it's about how you present this thing from a rhetorical standpoint. if the message gets through that you're ready to shut down the government, a lot of people look at that and they're not that happy. if you're focussing on the idea that you don't like the law, it's not working, the president wants to delay it so we want to join him in delaying other parts of it, then i think that is something that you start to get through and you're going to put yourself in a good negotiating position and for republicans, they have to get on the same page and they have to figure out how to put their point of view in a message that is broadly received by voters. gregg: which they really haven't done yet. you remember the delays, the exceptions, we'll put a list on the screen. it's quite amazing. medicare cuts delayed, employer

mandate delayed, out of pocket caps delayed, 2,000 plus business and union waivers, this last one is the most glaring which is even congress doesn't like obamacare because they gave themselves an exemption and the president signed it into law. the federal government continues to subsidize health plans for lawmakers because they don't want to have anything to do themselves personally with obamacare. i mean, it speaks volumes, doesn't it? >> it shows you that there are a lot of flaws in the law that even supporters of the affordable care act of obamacare simply don't like and would like to change. it puts the republicans in a strong position if they could stop fighting with themselves and focussing on, you know, a hail mary type of a strategy which is what you're dealing with as long as president obama is in the white house. an interesting note on subsidizing health care, both members of congress and their staff will have to go into the

obamacare exchanges but the federal government, as before, will continue to kick in for a portion behalf -- of what it costs for health care for the employees. gregg: thanks. arthel: the fire as big as chicago but today, crews in california are gaining ground on a raging wildfire burning in and around yosemite national park. the flames have burned more than 280 square miles and could be threatening a major city's water supply. claudia is live in california and what is the latest out there? >> well, good afternoon. nearly 4,000 firefighters are starting to make some significant progress now against the stubborn rim fire and the mood here is one of cautious optimism that the worst may be over. this fire over the past 10 days has burned roughly 180,000 acres but it is now 20% contained.

because these flames are burning in steep rugged terrain, this has become an all-out air assault. fixed wing air tankers are making drops of water. ground crews not on the front lines are setting backfires and more. >> they're cutting line, they're using bulldozers, they're putting a barrier between the fire and any structures or infrastructure that may be threatened. >> the smoke cloud and even some of the flames visible from space. this is now the biggest wildfire on record in california's sierra nevada. the cause is under investigation. officials say this fire has destroyed 31 homes and 80 outbuildings. we're also told that there are three injuries as a result of this fire. none is said to be life threatening, though. back to you. arthel: all right. thank you very much for that update. thanks. gregg: spending hundreds of

millions of your tax dollars on a law you already have to follow. coming up, we're going to take a look at the p.r. effort to help sell the american people on obamacare. arthel: and u.s. military officials telling fox news that a strike in syria is not a case of if but when. the latest and what we're learning about our possible future involvement in syria's civil war. okay, listen up! i'm re-workin' the menu.

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we're switching car insurance. why? because these guys are the cheapest. why? good question. because a cut-rate price could mean cut-rate protection. you should listen to this guy. [ female announcer ] with allstate you get great protection and a great price, plus an agent! drivers who switched saved an average of $498 a year. call now and see how much you can save. just a few more ways allstate is changing car insurance for good. [ female announcer ] call an allstate agent and get a quote now. gregg: we're watching extreme weather for you in missouri. concerns this year's dry, hot summer will mean a big hit for next year's crops. farmers already reporting signs of trouble. fewer usable crops could mean prices rising at the grocery store. and too much rain is the problem in southern california. flash flooding causing mudslides there, at least one woman was killed. some areas east of l.a. saw two inches of rain falling per hour. dust storms and thunderstorms,

look at that, roaring through arizona, ripping down power lines leaving a brown haze over phoenix. the area still in the middle of monsoon season, if you will. seven states under advisories right now as well as warnings. schools in some states allowing late arrival and early departure because of the temperatures. >> it's horrible. it's really hard to concentrate and i have them drinking lots of water so they don't get heat stroke so of course, they have to go to the bathroom every two minutes. gregg: meteorologist janice dean is live at the fox news weather center. >> yes. keep the little ones hydrated and in air conditioning as much as you can because it's going to remain hot in this region for the next several days so not going away any time soon and with the humidity, it's going to feel anywhere from 100 to 110 degrees. so we have heat advisories and

heat warnings in and around the minneapolis area. this typically doesn't get that hot for several days in a row. so you're looking at temperatures well into the 90s, almost to 100 degrees. iowa city up to minneapolis, sioux falls, rapid city, we have this high pressure that's just anchored across this region and as you can see, 95 today the average is just 79. 92 wednesday and thursday, into friday, saturday, sunday, monday. we'll start to see the cooler temperatures for the next couple of days it's going to be very dangerous so keep an eye on the little ones, certainly the elderly, check on them, and your pets, too. can't forget your pets. severe threat today. we do have the significant chance for wind and hail, even isolated tornados so keep that in mind and we were talking about the rim fire across the southwest. it is monsoon season. we're going to get some moisture into this area. unfortunately not up to yosemite

where they really need to get some rain. back to you, gregg. gregg: thanks very much. arthel: breaking developments on syria now with senior defense sources telling fox it's not a question of if but when the u.s. will launch a military strike. just one day after u.n. inspectors came under sniper fire as they investigated reports of a chemical weapons attack near damascus. and attacked the arab league now blames on the asad regime. joining us is retired lieutenant colonel cowen. good to see you, sir. >> good to be with you. thank you. arthel: if you were leading the charge, what would your strategy be? >> thanks for having me. look. i think the pentagon and the white house have to be driven by three considerations. number one is, we put no u.s. lives at risk. we don't want to lose everybody and don't want to talk about boots on the ground. number two, we want to minimize collateral damage, innocent

civilians and number three, send a clear message and what i would do if i were in charge, i would go back and remember in 1990 we took a direct strike at saddam. we got his attention and i recall that during the israeli hezbollah war, they told the civilians to get out of there. i would tell asad, you have 24 hours. get out of your palace, get your family out of the palace, grab anything you want to keep and within 24 hours, i would demolish that building and i would say, that's our first warning. we know where you are. the next time we're going to come after you, not some empty building. arthel: but asad is saying bring it and syria is saying that they're going to defend themselves using all available means so let's talk about not perceived but what would you say are syria's real weapons capabilities? >> i think the a good

anti-aircraft ability. we know they have chemical weapons. depending how we would strike a singular target like i'm suggesting, we would use cruise missiles and certainly use the b 2 bombers that can make it all the way over and all the way back, probably not be threatened too badly by the anti-air capabilities that the syrians have and we could accomplish our mission. at the end of the day, it's important to remember the issue isn't so much chemical weapons as it is asad himself, the guy that controls the chemical weapons so in my judgment, we need to send the message directly to him at his doorstep, not to some facility, some headquarters, some group of his soldiers somewhere out around the country. arthel: president obama is set to meet with russian president vladmir putin next tuesday. do you think it would be important to wait for that meeting, seeing that russia has a lot of influence over syria? >> i love your question. thank you so much. i miss jennifer's piece there but no. look. vladmir putin is going to poke us in the eye no matter what he

does. i think it would show ups manship on our part if we did something against them hours ahead of that meeting and when he sits down with vladmir putin, says i'm sorry. i would like to work this out with you beforehand but i couldn't. we've laid out the red line. they crossed it. they crossed it a couple of times and i know you're concerned. i know you don't like it but i'm doing what i have to do. arthel: all righty. thank you very much. we appreciate your perspective as always. see you next time. >> thanks. thanks for having me. gregg: coming to a screen near you, an ad touting the benefits of obamacare. a look at how and why uncle sam is spending hundreds of millions of dollars promoting a law that's already on the books.

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gregg: right now the federal government is spending hundreds of millions of your hard earned taxpayer dollars to try to sell you on obamacare. it's a law that is, by the way, already on the books and as the publicly funded p.r. machine ramps up, a privately funded group is busy explaining how the law will really impact average americans. we have more. >> the big sell is underway. the administration needs at least three million of 19 million uninsured americans to make obamacare work. want only will you be subsidizing their medical care now but you're paying for the message to convince them to sign up. video contest, celebrities proshgs athletes, obama administration is asking everyone from oprah to comedians to ask everyone to sell them on obamacare.

government's p.r. machine will spend $684 million to peddle the new law. almost 300,000 went to the health care in tucson. >> what those employees will be doing are educating people about the options with the affordable care act but they will also be encouraging people to come in to see what kind of insurance they qualify for. >> employees accent the positive like expanded coverage but across towns, taxpayers wonder how the law will negatively impact them. >> when is obamacare kicking in? is it a done deal? >> if you're just under 65 -- >> this event involved no public money. >> we want to be very, very careful if you're in the medicare age group. >> older folks worry about what they may lose but it's what the working poor stand to gain that energizes the effort. >> that we'll be educating, helping them through the process. >> critics consider that process

a one sided p.r. campaign. >> it is a little disturbing that the government is spending taxpayer money to go out and sign people up for a government program of dubious quality. >> so the sign-up period for health insurance begins october 1 when you can expect to see ads but don't expect to hear the good, bad and the ugly. this is more about spin than specifics. gregg: $684 million. truly amazing thanks very much. arthel: the white house preparing to release evidence that syria used chemical weapons on its own people. will it be enough to justify international military action? we're live at the white house. gregg: and a familiar face in washington saying farewell today. a closer look next and why critics are questioning accomplishments.

gregg: fox news alert. we're awaiting the white house press briefing today as we get word that the obama administration will soon release a declassified report that could justify military action in syria. chief white house correspondent ed henry is live in the briefing room. >> good to see you. we're told by one source that a declassified intelligence could come as early as today. that would move the administration one step closer to possible military action.

of course, the u.n. alreadythos in syria but remember, there was a sniper firing on that u.n. convoy yesterday. reports now that syria may not want the inspectors to do any more inspecting and the administration is clearly moving forward with what they want to do regardless of what happens with that u.n. team. remember the u.n. team's mandate on the ground in syria is only to figure out whether or not chemical weapons were used, not who was culpable, not who used the weapons. it's mute because the administration yesterday said they believe number one chemical weapons were used and number two, that they were used by president asad so regardless of what the u.n. team finds, the administration seems to be moving forward, especially after the president a year ago this month suggested there was a red line on the use of chemical weapons. samantha power, u.s. ambassador to the u.n. spoke about that earlier but remember, republicans are saying if there is military action, it can't

just be symbolic because of the president's rhetoric last year. it needs to be a surgical strike that damages the syrian government. take a listen. >> all i can say is we're continuing to consult our allies and partners on the appropriate response in light of last week's chemical weapons attack in syria. >> how is that coming along? >> we're making progress >> our concern should be those chemical weapons presenting them -- preventing them from falling in the hands of hezbollah, preventing them from the hands of al qaeda. that should guide our actions, not expressing some moral outrage. >> the white house revealing as well the president spoke to the prime minister of canada. that follows talking to david cameron in recent days. those are steps you take when prepare to go take military action, line up the allies but very important that we expect the director of national team to have a packet of intelligence put together that the

administration believes will show that syria was behind the chemical attack. if you follow what happened yesterday where secretary kerry spoke out about that and then the u.s. briefing happened, we would expect it possibly as early as this afternoon we'll see some of that intelligence. gregg: all right. ed henry live at the white house. thanks very much. >> after years on the job, homeland security is leaving her post today. president obama says the american people are safer and more secure because of her leadership but some question just how much she really accomplished. katherine is live in washington with more. >> thank you. the homeland security secretary addressing the national press club here in washington, billed as a farewell speech before she begins her new position heading up the university of california. looking back over the past 4 1/2 years, i can say that if there's

one take-away, one lesson i've learned and embraced as secretary, it's this. in a world of evolving threats, the key to our success is the ability to be flexible and agile. >> reporters like the fact she's now the longest serving homeland security secretary, the first woman to hold the position and a secretary whose immediate response to hurricane sandy on the ground within hours, one high praise even from critics who complain that she, along with the administration, tried to minimize the threat from al qaeda during her term by referring to terrorist attacks initially as man caused disasters. on her watch, there were two major domestic terrorist attacks. most recently the boston marathon bombings where 260 people were injured or killed and two very close calls, including the attempted bombing of a trans atlantic flight on christmas day 2009 when an underwear bomb that led to a

more aggressive screening at the airports and then this attempted bombing of times square in 2010. in both cases, the bombs' detonators failed to ignite. former chairman of the homeland security committee told fox that she was underutilized by the administration. >> under the bush administration, whether it was secretary ridge or secretary churchoff, the bush administration had been much more at the center of counterterrorism announcements and also as far as investigations while under this administration, they almost highly relied on the white house. >> administration has yet to identify who will take her place. arthel: all rightry. katherine, thank you very much for that. >> you're welcome. arthel: we want to remind to you check out fox news politics.com. keep yourself up to date with the very latest political news by logging on and signing up. gregg: right now the prosecution

has just rested its case in the penalty phase of the fort hood shooting court-martial. the death penalty is on the table. major hasan may want to die. the army psychiatrist who is defending himself convicted friday of 13 counts of premeditated murder, 32 counts of attempted premeditated murder. joining us once again is lis wiehl, doug burns the former defense attorney. good to see you both. >> thanks. gregg: look. there are almost two dozen witnesses, fathers and mothers who have taken the witness stand. one mother today said, you know, with tears in her eyes, she said i always wanted to know how my son would turn out and now i'll never know. you've deprived me of that. you know, it's powerful stuff. >> two major aggravating factors or circumstances if you break it down to the legal test. one is multiple killings.

gregg: let's put it up on the screen. >> in this particular case, unlike in a civilian case, you have killing a military officer as an aggravating factor and those two alone make this case just basically a textbook case for the death penalty. having said that, and i think lisa will address this, there's five people on death row in the military. there's been no execution since 1961. this may be the case that changes that. >> but a judge shouldn't be afraid because of the past history, 1961 being the last execution and these cases overturned but i think the judge did a great job in keeping this trial going where it was supposed to be going and really, no reversible error. gregg: in a court document hasan said this. i want to put this on the screen. it's very revealing. i'm paraplegic and could be in jail the rest of my life. however, if i died by lethal injection, i would still be a martyr. look. one panelist might say, let's not give him what he wants. >> right.

exactly. murder defendants are not allowed to choose their punishment and i worry. maybe i'm acting too rational here but i worry he's not trying to game the system. pushing us out there. kill me, kill me. reverse psychology. i don't know. it could be. >> we had that in jodi arias. she turned around and said i want the death penalty. >> for about five minutes. >> the next day or a couple of days later, she completely reversed course. i started that quote and what i found interesting about it, and maybe i'm reading too much into it, it implies the only thing she's a martyr if he gets the death penalty, not if he serves life in prison. gregg: every day in a wheelchair for the rest of the -- >> probably worse. you're right. >> except we're paying for it. >> yeah. that's true. gregg: this is so revealing. five condemned soldiers are on death row. 11 of 16 death sentences have been overturned. nobody has been executed since 1961.

you know, so a lot of these cases get tossed out but this judge, is that the reason tara osbourne, is that the reason why she limited the evidence? >> absolutely. she wanted to keep this case clean. she didn't allow a lot of emails that showed connections to all of this and i remember talking about this last week and people were jumping up and down saying if he was a terrorist, he should allow that in. they didn't need that. the prosecution did not need that. it was almost 10 years ago. it didn't need it. that would have been a big deal. gregg: this guy represented himself. he didn't take cross-examination, didn't even deliver closing argument. i could see an appellate judge, and it could go to the supreme court saying this is ineffective assistance of council. >> except it's inassistance of counsel by yourself. >> he asked by it. >> he had two trial advisers who said we want to do a, b and c but it's the defendant who controls that.

>> right. and don't forget, the defendant -- gregg: you can't defend them from their own stupidity. >> and it's only the defendant that gets to decide whether he takes the stand. gregg: thank you so much. arthel: so animated. i enjoyed it. thank you very much. coming up, swimming into the record books with a non stop relay lasting days and nights, all for a very good cause. and who took part in the credible feat. that story coming up. plus it's a key part of the beach scene but as the sand disappears, a novel way to replace it. we're live with the details.

gregg: now back to our top story on syria. the prime minister of great britain, david cameron, has made a statement. he has been, of course, in close contact with president obama. here's the prime minister. take a listen. >> well, the question we have to ask ourselves is, if there is no

action following this big use of chemical weapons, is it going to be more likely in the future that more and more regimes will use chemical weapons, that this regime will use them again and again on a larger scale and we'll see more death and more suffering? it must be right to have some rules in our world and to try to enforce those rules. now, of course, as prime minister i take my responsibilities about safeguarding our armed services incredibly carefully, incredibly seriously. the question we need to ask is whether acting or not acting will make the use of chemical weapons more prevalent. >> prime minister of great britain david cameron on the issues in syria. this after the white house and of course, secretary john kerry, secretary of state said there's no question but this was an obscene use of chemical weapons

on innocent people. arthel: breaking a world record for a very good cause. the night train swimmers relay team just competed their 228-mile swim down the coast of california, swimming day and night in shark infested waters all to raise money for the navy seal foundation. the captain of the swim is also a decorated vietnam veteran and joins us from san diego. good to see you. >> good to see you. good morning. >> good morning. okay. we're going to brag a little more about your at that times. we're talking about six swimmers. you started there at point conception north of santa barbara, went down to point loma in san diego, beat the world record, i believe, by more than 20 miles. >> yes. arthel: now sweet was the victory? >> it was really, really good. current world record is 202 miles. we set out to break the record

two weeks beforehand and a team from southern california went out and laid down the gauntlet of 202 miles. we did it last night and we swam over 100 hours. we went through all sorts of unimaginable conditions and it was quite a journey so -- arthel: tell us about some of the unimaginable conditions. >> a local san diego sort of celebrity, he's one of the fastest swimmers in the world. he has one of the records from catalina swimming 20 miles so he's an incredible person. 2:00 in the morning he starts yelling and screaming and, you know, saying words i can't say on the air but apparently, he encountered a seal who decided it was mating season. he was playing with blair for maybe 20 minutes thumping him and it's pitch dark. it's waves and water and anyway, the seal finally went away and he calmed down. he didn't want to go back in after that but the mission continued and we had a really good time after that.

arthel: did you swim at night yourself? >> no. i found a lot of these swims, and i'm sort of the team captain and being a swimmer i think is a big asset to understand what swimmers feel, when they need a kick in the butt and moral booster and navigator and somebody has to organize the whole thing and it's hard to be a swimmer and organizer so i decided to pull myself off the team. these people are younger and faster. arthel: but you have been a swimmer in long distance relays before. tell me this. how do you coordinate that? do you have a person preset the distances and perhaps the person is treading water waiting for the person to arrive at a particular time? how does that work? >> the whole thing starts over a couple of beers, you know. we get together, we tell tall tales and lie to each other and what is unanimousimaginable.

we said why don't we swim from san francisco to san diego? last year we said swim from san diego to san francisco. one of the swimmers had over 100 jellyfish stings on her body and she couldn't breathe anymore and we raised a lot of money for the marines and this time it's time to raise money for the navy seals. let's go from point a to point b and then you assemble the team. assembling the swimmers is key because you not only need good swimmers, and we don't have my prima donnas, people very compass i believe and the whole team was close. arthel: i want to let everybody know that navy seal foundation.org in case anyone wants to contribute to the great organization. thank you very much and continue celebrating there in san diego. thank you. >> thank you. gregg: next time you go to the beach, don't take that stand under your feet for granted.

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gregg: environmental experts are trying to come up with a creative solution to a very unusual problem. some of florida's most beautiful and popular beaches are running out of sand. you kind of need that stuff. mr. cool phil keating is live in beautiful miami beach with this story. you look pretty cool, phil. >> we had sunshine today. you know, down here in florida, sand is everything. to feel it, play in it, walk in it. it brings tourists from around the world and contributes about

$70 billion a year to the state's economy. due to constant erosion up and down the beaches like you see ex efrp li fieed here, they've been rebuilding the beaches. but those off shore sand supplies and these two counties are now gone. as you can imagine, that is creating an environmental and economic crisis of the future where perhaps one day people would no longer be able to bury themselves up to their necks in the sand or even build sand castles. >> here are samples that came from some sort of a green bottle. >> so broward county now has a real green solution. take recycled glass bottles, crushed and ground to the same exact size and coarseness of natural sand to rebuild the beaches that way. all the testing so far shows great promise. >> we looked at toxicity compared to beach sand, looked

at micro biological functions compared to beach sand. everything seems to indicate that by all physical and biological measures, it's, you know, performing like sand. >> the final step for broward glass peach -- beach idea $ out in the ocean. as for the all important tourists, whom we caught covering themselves quite enthusiastically in the sand, the idea of doing the same thing with recycled glass led to some sharp opinions. >> no. no. no. >> he said that he would not get in the water because the glass is dangerous. >> he's afraid of getting cut. >> yeah. >> i think it's a great idea as long as they resurface it properly, i'm sure i wouldn't even notice it. >> now, of course, glass bottles are made from silica sand heated

up to 337 degrees so a lot of this see this as returning from hence it came. marketing is how the sand performs and how the way it feels and looks and the samples we saw, i have to say it was not really noticable, the difference it was glass recycled versus how this feels right here and the big other issue here is the environmental protection that beaches do play for hurricane season. they do provide a buffer protecting all of these coastal communities, condo towers and the tourist towns. gregg: you can probably dye it any color you want. you could have pink sand if you want. >> that's the marketing idea. the mayor of broward is talking about a blue sandy beach from blue bottles. gregg: there you go. mr. cool, phil, thanks very much. arthel: so you could bring sand to the beach after all. gregg: bring your recycled bottles. all right. we'll wait to hear from the white house on syria. that's coming up. arthel: as you know, the u.s. military is, quote, saying they're ready to go. we're live with the latest

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>> we are out of time. >> we begin today. president obama orders an attack on syria. the white house is holding a briefing at this hour as the war rhetoric heats up. our forces are ready for action. it could involve the c- launched cruise missiles on target and the u.s. had four navy destroyers in the area and each up to carrying